Why Dirty Harry wouldn't win a Gold Medal

by Tony Vidler.

One of the great movie lines spoken by the character Dirty Harry was "a man's got to know his limitations".  A line which always seems to apply to financial advisers.

But this doesn't apply to Olympians does it?  

I am captivated by the incredible achievements of humans that is demonstrated at the Olympics, and their ability to continually re-define their (apparent) limitations.  

You cannot help watching them, admiring them, and then wondering how you can apply what they know and do, to the non-Olympic and mere-mortal world we live in.

At the London 2012 games 2 athletes standout for me personally, on the basis of how they continually have re-defined their own expectations (or self-limitations).  

Michael Phelps must be considered one of the greatest athletes of all time, and his record is remarkable.  The second athlete to stand out for me is also a swimmer - who did not win a medal.

Lauren Boyle, from New Zealand. What a remarkable young lady - and the epitome of a "champion".

She came 4th in the 800m freestyle final.  But to get there she had to continue, race by race, to swim faster than she had ever swum in her life.  Breaking her own national records to get to the final, and then under the immense pressure of the final of an Olympic glamor event, she lifted another notch again.   And at the end of the race, was she upset at getting 4th?  Not on your life...she recognized that she had challenged her own beliefs, re-defined her apparent limitations, and found a new confidence and performance level.

So what do Lauren & Michael Phelps have in common?

Well, they both have a coach that they listen to and learn from.  They apply process and systems to enhance their training and "professional development".  They take advice from their mentors.  It is up to them to put that advice into action and performance though.

According to a study of Olympic Champions here are their common denominators for success:

Characteristics of Champions

  An ability to cope with and control anxiety.

  Confidence

  Mental toughness/resiliency

  Sport intelligence

  An ability to focus and block distractions

  Competitiveness

  A hard-work ethic

  An ability to set and achieve goals

  Coachability

  High levels of dispositional hope

  Optimism

  Adaptive perfectionism

Source:  Psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions.

Gould, D., Diffenback, K., & Moffett, A.

If you want a self-improvement checklist of things to work upon, you will not find a much better list than this one.

On this basis, would that excellent pistol shooting Dirty Harry have got a gold medal?  

I don't think so...at the very least because he wasn't too "coachable", or open to learning.  There are a couple of other attributes that he didn't share with the Olympians either, and we can't overlook his tendency to adopt a cynical "me versus the world" attitude combined with a mindset of "my way is the only way, and winning is everything".  Brute force as a method of problem solving also has its limitations too I guess.

What led me down this line of thought in recent days is the realisation that there are more business owners like Dirty Harry than there are business people thinking and behaving like Olympians.

Champions challenge themselves, and are continually focused on incremental improvement, open to new ideas and learning, and reinforce all they learn with sheer hard work.  

Any professional advisers or professional service firms looking to develop or just get business ideas and inspiration should think about adopting the mindset of an Olympian rather than Dirty Harry. 

You don't have to actually get a gold medal or be first in the world to be a champion.  You only have to have seen Lauren immediately after NOT winning a medal to realise that.

 http://www.3news.co.nz/No-medal-but-still-glory-for-record-breaking-Boyle/tabid/1706/articleID/264158/Default.aspx


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Will you marry me?

 by Tony Vidler.

I have no idea what the actual statistics would be, but I am willing to wager that the success rate of popping the question "will you marry me?" onto a prospective partner who you have not yet dated is probably pretty low.  

If you've dated for a bit, the odds get a bit better, though only marginally so.  If you've been engaged for a while and everyone knows what the end game is, then the odds are pretty good that you will get a "yes" to "will you marry me?".

How does this apply to financial advice?  Well...the biggest problem with financial adviser marketing is the tendency to pop the "will you marry me" question to people who haven't decided yet whether they want to spend a Saturday night with you. 

This lies at the heart of dealing with a common adviser question: "How can I make my marketing more effective?"

Before answering this question though it is important to understand a more fundamental question: What is the difference between marketing and selling?

Many advisers seem to think that these are one and the same thing.  Or, if pressed a little further, "marketing" is often confused with "advertising".   Marketing does include advertising... as it also includes having a clear value proposition, understanding the target market, the branding of the individual and the branding of the business entity, and a number of other things.

Thinking bigger picture though; marketing is really about creating opportunities to gain a client or some new business.  Selling is the process of converting that opportunity into an actual piece of business that your accountant can see.

To answer the question posed at the outset then, one has to understand that while there may be many components that go into creating really effective marketing, the underlying question that the adviser is really asking is "how can I create more opportunities to engage with people who would be willing to take the actions I would recommend"?

The part that really matters in this underlying question is "opportunities to engage with people".  THAT is the piece that you must concentrate upon to create "more effective" marketing.  This revelation is the point where advisers often say "aha, I get it" and their marketing efforts lift as they begin to focus upon creating new opportunities to generate future new business.  It makes sense to them that if they are able to attract attention, and engage with people, then they begin to establish a relationship of trust. Surely having done this the prospective client will take my advice and work with me?

It is at this point though that the bulk of such marketing efforts fall down in a heap.

The reason?  Lack of patience and understanding of the engagement process.  It's akin to having a couple of Saturday night dates and then wondering why the dream date doesn't want to marry you yet.  A lot of adviser businesses at this point are creating a lot of Saturday night dates....but there's no follow through.  It's just lifting the initial activity level really.

Engagement (in this business sense) is really about inter-acting with people on a regular basis in a way that they feel comfortable with until they decide they want to be with you.  Your marketing purpose is to get, and then hold, their attention and build their level of interest in what you have to offer in the way of valuable advice and solutions.  At some point in the engagement process you - or more likely some other event unrelated to your marketing and positioning - will trigger "desire" on their part to act.

That is when the marketing process is finished, and selling begins.  Although, if your marketing and engagement process is done well, the reality is that there is very little selling involved. 

The necessary level of trust and credibility in you as the right adviser has already been established.  The rest is process and technical competency being applied to the clients' need.  

The reality for a financial adviser business though is that engagement is forever.  The actual marriage part - your client buying you or your solution at some point - is actually just a moment in time.  It is a purchase. A transaction.  A fait accompli....if the engagement was a fulfilling one.

Engagement with clients, for the successful advice business, is long term.  Once you have them as clients, then the engagement and ongoing interaction becomes even more important, as they can add significant value to your business if you can move them from supporting you to the point where they are advocates for your business.

To make your marketing more effective - to get better results for your business - stop asking the marriage question.  It's not about the big moment and the big "sale".  Build systems and processes to engage people in a way they feel comfortable with, and share information and insights, and help them help themselves.....and they will want to take it further!

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Some customers you don't want...

by Tony Vidler.

Understanding the needs of different types of customers is essential in order to get your value proposition, service offering and process as RIGHT as you can to attract the right types of customers for your business.

Broadly speaking there are two groups of potential customers; 

1. Transactional focus

2.  Relationship based

The engagement, or "sales", process is quite different for each group.

Traditionally most advisers have been trained to deal with the transactional customer - which is hardly surprising.  Most of today's advisers were trained by product manufacturers in the past whose sole concern really was selling products. Today's professional adviser sells their expertise and time, and while there are often product solutions involved in the process they are not at the center of the advisers' value to the customer.

The customers with a transactional focus are pretty much focused on short term decision making.  They are essentially driven by price, or immediately perceived value for the price they have to pay.  In the absence of exceptional value in relation to other potential suppliers of advice or product solutions, they will focus on price alone.

Their greatest concern is paying more than they think they should right now.  As such, they will compare potential suppliers, or advisers.  They will haggle and express dissatisfaction at ANY price in a bid to get the best price-value they can.  They will question every recommendation, conduct their own research, ignore the commercial value supplied to them in time and effort by advisers, and be swift to complain of any perceived shortcomings.

Why would you deal with them if you are a professional adviser?  The very thing that differentiates you and adds value lies within your expertise and skills.  The core adviser value is not in the products you happen to suggest at any given time - and it is certainly not in the price of those products (which you cannot control much of the time in reality anyway).

The customer with a relationship focus may not articulate their needs in this way - they don't look for an adviser they can have a relationship with as such.  They do however understand that today's advice or product solution is simply a step in a much longer or larger process for them.  That is, they anticipate needing ongoing advice, service or solutions.  As such, their greatest fear is making a wrong choice.  That is quite a different motivator - and therefore underlying need that must be addressed and resolved - than the transactional customer.

The entire emphasis of your process is fundamentally different with each type of customer.

Traditionally trained advisers that retain an emphasis upon product as their core offering will naturally attract transactional customers - with all the haggling, stress and tyre-kicking that comes with that.  Advisers do so because the focus of their marketing and advice process is on that non-consumer-friendly process of "selling & closing". 

If you shift the focus of your marketing and positioning to one of engagement and building trust with customers you will attract those who value your ability to help them avoid making wrong choices, and with whom you will have much longer and valuable relationship with.

In the group of customers that seek relationship-based advice, there is significant lifetime customer value (which is a separate article in itself) for the the adviser business.  Those who seek transactional solutions focused on price are not really the clients for individual advisers of the future.  They will be the customers of the institutions that specialise in providing mass-market, not overly personalised, product solutions at the cheapest price they can get away with.

The business future for the professional adviser of tomorrow is in letting the transactional customers go to the institutions, and focusing on those who are more concerned with making wrong choices.  THEY are the ones who will value expertise and advice.

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Hustle while you wait!

by Tony Vidler.

One of the constant themes that comes up in coaching advisers to greater business performance, is the little matter of "hustling".

I'm not referring to getting out and pulling fast cons and sharp card tricks on unsuspecting folk of course...but the really simple and somewhat unpalatable fact that a seriously large part of any business persons success can simply be attributed to their ability to hustle while they wait.

It's about a work ethic.

As a general rule, very few advisers can afford to simply wait for the right, well qualified, potential customer to come walking through the office door announcing "I am ready to engage in a comprehensive financial review process - who wants to serve me?"

The unpalatable fact is that in the financial services business, advisers are usually as busy as they want to be.  There is a definite correlation between getting stuck in with a strong work ethic, and getting good business results.

As the diagram above shows, you have to be willing to make a good effort on the basic activities that generate results in your business, AND you do have to get stuck into it as quickly as possible IF you want to put the odds of success in your favor.

Make a little bit of an effort....eventually....and you cannot really expect great results can you?   You will probably get some results if you make a massive effort eventually....or perhaps put in just enough effort right now to get by.

Fantastic results come from getting into doing what you have to do as soon as possible, and putting maximum effort into it at that point.  

Not every week in business goes according to the grand plan...in fact, usually no week actually works out the way we imagined it would (or should).  That elusive customer who is going to walk in demanding your services at a premium price may well be coming, but in the meantime you have to get busy if you want to prosper.

Good things come to those who hustle while they wait.


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It's not about you...it's about the value.

by Tony Vidler.

Financial advisers often struggle to create a value proposition that accurately expresses how they work differently, or what makes them special compared to others.

It isn't that they don't have points of difference, or that they struggle to put ideas into words...generally they are very good at both. Each adviser has a unique way of interacting with customers, and maintains relationships a little differently, and has slightly different views of how and where product solutions fit in, and what the relative strengths and weaknesses of different strategies are.

Despite that, a room full of advisers when working through the process of trying to articulate their value proposition, almost always come up with the same line of thought (and often use the exact same words) to try and describe themselves and their businesses.  

It ends up sounding something like this:

"you should do business with me because I am honest, trustworthy and a nice person. I care about people and am very good at my job. I am clever and have qualifications and you will have peace of mind if you work with me"

This is the very simple summary of the typical statement advisers first come up with - as a customer might hear it.

So what's wrong with it? Well, pretty much everything....So let's pull it apart.

1. Honest, trustworthy, etc...these personal attributes are simply expected. There is no value-add here - customers expect this as a minimum standard of integrity.

2. Nice person...of course you are. If you weren't you would have no customers, in fact, you'd have no business if you had no ability to relate well to others and be a decent human.

3. I care....well, once again, you are expected to aren't you? If you did not actually care about others you would not be in a profession of trust where an essential component is the ability to think of the other persons objectives and be willing to work with them to get them the results they want.

4. I'm clever & have qualifications, etc....of course you do. Otherwise you shouldn't be in the business of advising people about money.

5. You will have peace of mind. NOW....the big problem with this is no customer actually believes it, and not very many advisers can actually deliver it.

So let's recap....5 parts to the typical value proposition statement designed by most advisers and 4 of them are "hygiene factors", and one is frankly unbelievable in the minds of the customers.  By "hygiene factor" I mean it is a given in the customers mind...as in any hospital will be hygenic.  It is not in itself a point of difference for hospitals.

In a previous post I outlined the formula, or the questions that must be addressed, to come up with a genuine point of difference that really means something to a customer.  

( http://tonyvidler.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/3-questions-you-must-answer-to-define.html )

Basically when trying to create an articulate value proposition it falls down in 2 key parts:

• The adviser doesn't think of how different they are to other advisers. They think of how different they are to the customers. So the proposition ends up sounding the same as all other advisers' value propositions...hardly a unique point of difference...and simply highlights the distance between the customer and the adviser. 
• Secondly, the value proposition doesn't really capture what benefits the adviser actually delivers to the customer.

And that is the core objective of it:  articulate the benefit to the client that cannot be obtained from someone else.

Here are some general areas where you might be exceptional and doing unique things, and are able to do what customers value:

• Customisation:  using the masses of data and information in a highly personalised manner, or perhaps providing service or advice that is tailored to highly specific customers.
• Risk Handling:  taking away risks for customers; transferring responsibilities; removing the need to consider specific risks - making their world less risky than it was.
• Convenience:  being able to combine things in a way others can't; getting access to what customers need and value faster, easier, and so on; being there - instead of them having to initiate action, etc.

This is just a short collection of concepts to highlight that creating a value proposition is not about you.  It is about the end result for the customer - the thing they value.  When you get that, and are able to express it succinctly, then they will get you and the value you bring.


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Danger: Great Expectations Ahead!

by Tony Vidler.

Nearly everyone agrees that good customer service is good for business.  What is "good customer service" though?

It can be made up of a lot of things, but let's focus on one simple attribute of customer service - time.

Speed is of the essence to consumers.  Speed IS service.

This is a simple concept, but it creates difficult performance targets. 

Some quick statistics:

• over 80% of customers want the phone answered within 4 rings.
• over 80% of customers want the phone answered by an actual human.
• over 65% want the person answering the phone to be able to deal with the problem.
• over 65% are dissatisfied if they are transferred and have to wait more than 30 seconds to talk to the next human.

It is important to bear in mind that these are desired service levels from most consumers across a range of industries, which is not the same as "adequate" service levels for any particular industry or business.  Which of these two levels of service you provide depends on your overall value proposition to consumers - and not all business models depend upon excellent service.  If one is in the business of providing lowest cost goods or services, there is an inherent consumer expectation that service levels will be compromised.  There is still an expectation that service must be adequate, but there is little more expectation than that.

If at the other extreme you are looking to command premium pricing in your business model, then there is a consumer expectation of excellent service.  Excellent becomes the new "adequate" benchmark, and nothing less than excellent will do. If you are promising to bend over backwards for your customers, you had better be able to as that will be their expectation of minimum standards from the outset.

There are many variables that can go into the overall service offer of course, but in virtually every type of service offer in the professional services firm, speed plays a part in the consumer perception of quality.  This is especially true with accessible internet at broadband speeds now being available on people's mobile phones.  The consumers perception of speed has changed...

Think about this:  15 years ago we were delighted if a computer worked.  5 years ago we were delighted if the computer and the line connection worked long enough for us to finish booking a hotel room.  Now over half of consumers are dissatisfied if a web page takes 3 seconds to load. What is their expectation of speed in a years time?

So what is your speed promise?  What is the "adequate" level of service that your consumers expect?

To determine how you might create superior service, and a superior value proposition, you need to know where the minimum performance benchmark is.  

Be aware though: there are great expectations ahead.  The consumers' perception of speed is changing faster perhaps than we can change speed of service.  Are you promising excellence, or acceptable and adequate standards in this area of your customer service proposition?

Whatever the level of service is that you promise, be sure to include a reliable performance level for speed of response.  It matters to your customers.


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How going Low-Tech is best!

by Tony Vidler.

As advisers become more compliance-focused, and attain more technical expertise, there is a real risk of getting too clever - and clients not understanding what you are talking about.  It is helpful to have some simple techniques that cut through to the heart of the matter and show them precisely what you are suggesting, and how that benefits them.

Often the best way of explaining in simple terms what you are recommending is to go really really low-tech.  Use a blank piece of paper, divide it into 2 columns and put each "parties" part on either side of the page.

It captures precisely what you are suggesting; what the clients commitment is; and; what the other parties commitment back to them is.

People get it, and it is a lot more helpful than the 40 page detailed report with pie charts and graphs.

For Example:

I am not suggesting ignoring the technical information, or the necessary detail of your recommendation.  The detail is essential from many perspectives.  However, technical information should be supporting your recommendation - it should not BE the recommendation.   GREAT advisers are able to take complex technical information and deliver it in a way that clients can grasp quickly.

As Albert Einstein so famously put it:

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"

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The 8 steps of a great sales script

 by Tony Vidler.

 One of the most under-rated tools for success in any sales-orientated job is "scripting"...actually writing down the words you are going to use - in advance - and thinking about how those words work together.

Unbelievably though most sales people seem to prefer to pick up a phone, or make a call on a prospective client, and basically just work it out on the fly. 

They say they want to sound "natural", or don't want to sound "canned"....and after a little role play I can often assure them that their natural and un-canned approach to a prospect certainly doesn't sound like a rehearsed spiel at all. 

It usually sounds more like a spluttering teenager hesitantly asking a shotgun-armed father if he can take his daughter out....

The same salespeople then ask for help with improving their conversion rates....improving the proportion of the people they talk to initially wanting to talk further with them.  But they want to be natural while doing it.

So why bother scripting out what you are hoping will sound natural and easy?  Well, it is so you can be natural and easy....while being effective.

In any presentation, whether it be over the phone to a stranger or in an auditorium of attentive acolytes, you will be far more relaxed and easy with your audience if you know precisely what you are going to say and do.  Practice really does make perfect in this regard...rehearsing and practicing to get the right words in the right order and with the right inflection and impact makes a massive difference to your conversion rate.  It follows of course that a big difference in that conversion rate means far more effective advertising and marketing spend, and a far healthier bottom line for your business.  And you annoy less people.

What goes into a good sales scripts?

1.  The clients name.

The one thing guaranteed to get someone's attention is their own name, and it is a basic courtesy.  Try and use it 2-3 times early in the script as it gets their full attention on what you are saying.  You are also being courteous and polite in doing so, which creates a positive impression.

2.  Pauses.

Especially when engaging with a prospective client on the phone and they have no non-verbal clues to help them, you have to give reasonably frequent pauses.  It is difficult for most people to follow a conversation with someone they do not know well when they can only hear them, so you have to slow down and give them time to process what you are saying.

3.  Tone.

The tone can in itself make or break any approach - we all know that.  Think beyond the obvious though - it isn't just about being friendly and professional, but where you put inflection on particular words, and how fluidly you move through what you want to say can also make a huge difference to how positively it is received.  And a light mildly humorous tone can be magic - if you (or your line of work) can carry that off.

4.  Brevity

Life's short. Keep it brief.  Make it as short as possible - but no shorter.  One of the real advantages of scripting and role-playing is that you can actively refine what you want to say to get that optimal balance of brief, but detailed enough, to get the point across.

5.  WIIFM.

Every prospective client has Radio-WIIFM playing in their own head the whole time you are talking to them.  What Is In It For Me?  That's the question in their minds that MUST be answered sufficiently for them to agree to go further with you.  It is at the core of your script.

6.  Minimal choices.  

Too many choices confuse people, and their instinct is to either find a middle ground or refuse to choose anything.  The simple act of providing many choices creates a barrier for many consumers - it all gets too hard.  If for instance you are asking for an appointment, then just give them a choice of 2 times.  If you don't provide any choices, and leave an open question for them to solve, it just becomes too hard as they have to think of too many variables.

7.  Ask.

Seems obvious, but you actually have to ask for what you want at some point.  Clearly it is not appropriate asking for what you want before you've gone through the previous steps, however you do actually have to ask for the order, or the next step, or the appointment, or whatever.  This doesn't have to be complicated - in fact you are more likely to be trusted if it isn't some cunning "closing technique" - just simple and open, asking for permission to go to the next step, is very effective.

8.  Back-up.
No matter how good and polished your script and you are, there will be people you are talking to where they haven't quite got it and are hesitating.  Usually when they are hesitating or non-committal - but haven't hung up on you or thrown you out - they are saying inside their own minds "you haven't convinced me yet".

You have to be prepared with a back-up...something which cuts straight to the heart of the WIIFM again and helps them understand what the benefit is to them of doing what you ask.  It is not "objection handling" of the old fashioned variety where you supposedly will cunningly maneuver the prospective client into saying "yes" to something they will later regret.  This is your best shot...your key proposition put into words that show them how they will gain from doing what you propose.

There will still be people who don't go with your recommendation - and for lots of good reasons that they don't want to share with you.  But if you do construct a great sales script, and rehearse and polish it, at least you won't lose good people just because they couldn't understand you or thought you a bumbling fool.

A great sales script is founded on elemental psychology and an acute understanding of what is likely to be happening in the other persons mind.  The right words, put together in the right order, and then said the right way, and all done with conviction and certainty make for success.


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3 questions you must answer to define your Uniqueness

by Tony Vidler.

The difference between a good (but not spectacular) salesperson, and a truly magnificent salesperson is the ability to succinctly articulate what makes them special. 

This is often referred to as having a "Unique Selling Proposition", or USP.
 
A good USP is the thing that in a moment makes a potential customer think: "Aha! - I am interested in talking to YOU".

That moment can be the difference between merely making a living, or making a mint.

So how does one go about defining their USP?

Well, it's hard work. You have to think honestly about what makes you different, and how you deliver value, and then be able to capture that in a simple statement that people can get, or get intrigued by, in moments....it is not a 5 minute job to work out for most people.  In fact it is something that you might be constantly thinking about and working on for many many months.  

To get on track with defining your own USP there are just a few questions that you need to be able to answer.  So here are the questions you have to answer in order to distill the essence of what makes you special, and why somebody should deal with you.

1. What do I really do?

(Note:  not what are the mechanics or functions of my job, but what things do I achieve for others)

2. What am I genuinely passionate about? 

(Note: "passionate" is an over-used word, but think about what you would do for no financial reward (if you could), because you genuinely love doing it)

3. How does what I do, and what I am passionate about, combine to make a fantastic difference to another person?

(Note:  This is the toughest one to work out - and is the essence of a great USP)

Some good (but not GREAT) examples:

"what makes me unique is my ability to grasp complex technical information REALLY quickly, and provide practical simple solutions straight away that clients can benefit from."

"what makes me unique is my ability to positively influence people to change their thinking on how their financial future can be, and then help them make it happen the way they want it to."

"I am great at being able to to stay focused on the end goal for my clients, and to be able to adapt their plan for them as the world changes so they are always on track to achieve their big goals."

There is a common structure here in articulating the USP.   Identifying immediately that you are able to describe something different about you in comparison to others, focusing then  on the key function that you perform better than others, and then translating that into the core benefit for the client.

Simplistically, the formula for a great USP could be described as:

My brilliance + my passion = Your gain

a final example....

"I am the best in the business at taking complex financial problems onboard, and delivering simple solutions that work for my clients.  I make their financial issues easy for them to fix."

It can be very hard work distilling all that you know, and all that you can do, into a simple sound-bite that people can grab, and understand, in moments.  If you are able to though, you will find that more prospective clients engage you.


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What's in a name?

by Tony Vidler.

...that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Shakespeare raises an interesting line of thought with that quote:  something is called a particular name only because that is what the majority of humans agreed to call it.  A rose could just as easily have been called a "hippo" couldn't it?

What triggered this line of thought on the matter of naming things, or labeling, was an interesting little article about some research done by a firm called Cerulli in the States.  The key finding of this piece of research was:

59%of Advisors perceive themselves as Financial Planners, but only 30% truly offer planning services.

I have no idea of the size of the research group, or whether it checked beyond American borders or anything else, however my guess is that this finding would be largely accurate here too.

In essence, the research asked advisers to classify themselves and their practices on their own perception of the services they offer the market.  The researchers then reviewed those answers against what the adviser practices actually were, and the work that had actually been done with their clients.

Several interesting conclusions arose.  Most advisers seemed to offer some of the elements of financial planning, but then focused nearly all of their efforts on asset accumulation and/or wealth management work.

Also, it is strongly implied that many advisers aspire to provide in-depth or comprehensive planning services, but the majority of their retail clients are not necessarily in need of such services.

Thirdly, it highlights the ongoing confusion amongst clients AND advisers over the industry terminology and titles.

Certainly there is nothing inherently wrong or unethical about calling oneself a financial planner (for example), if one is qualified to use that label and is offering financial planning services to consumers.  That is not at issue at all.  It is irrelevant whether the consumers use the full range of such expertise or not really, if the adviser has the expertise and is offering it.

I do wonder though whether an adviser is giving them-self the best chance of capitalizing on their core value proposition in the consumer minds?  That is, in their branding are advisers linking their expertise and value to what the consumer thinks they want or need?

The essence of appropriate labeling, or naming of anything, is surely to convey an image which is immediately understandable to the target audience.  We continue to call a rose a rose simply because that is accepted, understood by the majority, and instantly conveys an image to the person we are communicating with.

In other words, it works as a form of communication.

So professional advisers might need to re-consider how they label - or brand - themselves.

Despite the many years of work that may have gone into earning the right to be called a Financial Planner (or any one of a number of other suitable professional qualifications), and how much distinction there might be within the industry in using such titles or qualifications, it may actually be largely meaningless to the target market.

It is all well and good to comprehensively explain to an audience that this pretty thing with a nice aroma is a typical example of the Rosaceae family.  It is completely accurate, clearly imparts that you have some specific knowledge of the subject, and sounds very clever.  

But do people get it?  More importantly, will they want one?


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